Some of our favourite times this year have been welcoming our Canadian friends and family. Not just because we could introduce them to the city and country we love, but so that we could see Thailand through fresh eyes again.

It’s amazing how fast a totally non-normal life becomes quite normal. The food, language, people, transportation, scenery and customs here are all very different from Canada, yet they now feel so familiar that we hardly notice anymore.

But it’s not just the surface stuff. Through fresh eyes, we see again the crush of poverty, the hopelessness of refugees, and the trap of prostitution and human trafficking. Visitors remind us again and again that these things are not normal—they are evidence of brokeness.

I read somewhere that the founder of World Vision often prayed this: “God, continue to break my heart with the things that break yours.”

I like that. It’s far too easy to become numb.

That made me think. After seeing how normal un-normal things can seem after a while here in Thailand, I wonder what we’re now numb to in Canada. I’d like to bring a Thai friend back and see our country through their eyes. What would shock them most? Homelessness? Drug addition? Hunger? Broken families? Despite these issues being all around us, we need to remember that they are far from normal. They should continue to break our hearts and shake us out of complacency.

Ryan’s family during a visit to Bangkok at Christmas

I recently saw a quote on a migrant school uniform in Mae Sot that read, “Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”

What a perfect way to explain our year.

Now I can’t help but notice the evidence of my own ignorance splashed all over the place. When I came to Thailand, I had goals and expectations based on everything I thought I knew. But it turns out a lot of what I thought I knew was wrong—at least in this context. A good part of our year has been simply about re-learning how to do things in a different culture. It’s almost paralyzing. Without friends and colleagues, it would have been impossible. With them, it has been rich but—to be honest—still frustrating.

Now, with just a little more than two months left, it feels like I am really hitting my stride. Projects are coming together and things are getting done.

This might be the part where you expect me to talk about how much I’ve learned this year and how much wiser I feel. Sorry. I can’t.

After nine months in Thailand, I honestly feel a little dumber. I’m definitely less adaptable than I thought. And ignorant. Way more ignorant. One thing I can say is that perhaps I’m a little more aware of how ignorant.

It’s been an education indeed.